1930s Canadian Candy Cowboy Series #32 "An Exciting Game"

One of the great rarities in all of nonsport card collecting is entitled "An Exciting Game" and at a glance appears to be an unknown card from the 1910 T53 Hassan Cowboy Series. Technically the card is not actually a T53 in that it is from a 1930s Canadian candy set that borrows the images from T53 Hassan Cowboy Series, with the exception of the image that appears on this card #32 which is unique to this set. This card is actually part of a 1930s Canadian 40-card set entitled "The Cowboy, His Life and Fun" (catalogued D25). Card #32 pictures a cowboy drawing his gun on the other players during a poker game. According to card-collecting folklore (and all we can do is report the story, which sounds very plausible to us) the image on this card was originally intended to be included in the T53 set, but was pulled from production in 1910 because it was deemed too violent and inappropriate for distribution by the manufacturer. Few card collectors are familiar with this card today. We can say with certainty that this is the first we have even become familiar with it. Among old-time advanced nonsports-card collectors and historians, however, it has been well known and held in extremely high esteem. Noted nonsports-card historian Chris Benjamin (former editor of Non-Sport Update and author of the classic reference work Sport Americana Price Guide to the Non-Sports Cards) has ranked this card as number three on his list of the ten rarest nonsports cards. The offered example is the first we have ever seen of this fascinating and unusual rarity. It has been graded and encapsulated GOOD 30 by SGC. The card is a very attractive VG example, downgraded by SGC due to a touch of paper loss on the reverse. Reserve $100. Estimate (open).SOLD FOR $353

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